Changes
Carlisle finally made the decision to call, "Hello, Alice?"
"Carlisle," We all heard the resignation in her voice, she knew we had lost him.
"We've lost him."
"Yes, I just saw him, in a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold… a gold stripe across the mirrors.
"I don't know where the room is, something else is missing… another decision that hasn't been made yet, perhaps. He'll be in the mirror room today or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now, running a VCR, in the dark, in another place. The mirror room has a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits. Whatever made him get on that plane… it was leading him to those rooms."
"Alice, is Bella there with you now?" Carlisle could sense my impatience.
"Yes."
He handed me the phone. "Please let me speak with her," I could hear her speak Bella's name to the room and then, (after the sound of her heartbeat) the most beautiful sound in my world came through the receiver.
"Hello?" she answered tentatively.
"Bella," I breathed her name out in relief. To hear her voice again was a balm to my soul. Please God help me to keep her safe.
'Oh, Edward! I was so worried," She exclaimed breathlessly.
So typical Bella, always worrying about the wrong things… "Bella, I told you not to worry about anything but yourself," I implored her.
"Where are you?" she asked, unaffected, as usual, by my attempt to direct her thoughts.
"We're outside of Vancouver. Bella, I'm sorry – we lost him. He's suspicious of us – he's careful to stay just far enough away that I can't hear what he's thinking. But he's gone now – it looks like he got on a plane. We think he's heading back to Forks to start over."
"I know. Alice saw that he got away," she replied, resigned to the fact that this was not over yet.
"You don't have to worry, though. He won't find anything to lead him to you. You just have to stay there and wait till we find him again."
"I'll be fine. Is Esme with Charlie?" so predictable of her to worry always about others instead of herself.
"Yes – the female has been in town. She went to the house, but while Charlie was at work. She hasn't gone near him, so don't be afraid. He's safe with Esme and Rosalie watching."
"What is she doing?" she asked. I could almost imagine her heartbeat accelerating as we spoke of the potential danger to her father.
"Probably trying to pick up the trail; she's been all through the town during the night. Rosalie traced her through the airport, all the roads around town, the school… she's digging, Bella, but there's nothing to find."
"And you're sure Charlie's safe?" she asked. I wanted to be there to remove the worried creases that I was sure were carved into her brow as she inquired of her father's safety.
"Yes, Esme won't let him out of her sight. And we'll be there soon. If the tracker gets anywhere near Forks, we'll have him."
"I miss you." She whispered.
This separation was harder on both of us than even I had imagined. "I know, Bella. Believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half my self away with you."
"Come and get it, then," She challenged.
The little minx was actually toying with me and heaven help me, I loved it. I longed to have her in my arms, safe. "Soon, as soon as I possibly can. I will make you safe first," I promised.
"I love you," She assured me, reaffirming our bond even tighter.
"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you too?" It was a manner of apology but she would have none of it.
"Yes, I can, actually." I could hear the 'so there' in her voice as she spoke. She made me smile, even in the midst of all this turmoil.
"I'll come for you soon."
"I'll be waiting."
Handing the phone back to Carlisle, I turned the key, revved the engine and headed the jeep back toward Forks.
We all heard Carlisle's phone vibrating in the cab of the jeep. "Alice?" he answered.
I recognized the urgency in Alice's voice at once, even though she spoke at top speed. "I've had another vision, more recent with a little more light. Bella was able to recognize the dark room. It's in her mother's house here in Phoenix. The tracker is definitely coming here, if he isn't here already."
I was too alarmed to make any attempt to hide my fear from Carlisle or Emmett.
"We're on our way. First flight we can get on. We'll let you know the details when we get to the airport in Seattle," Carlisle promised her.
I went into full panic mode. This was my nightmare; that she would be too far away from me when the real danger came and I would be unable to save her. Carlisle and Emmett both wisely kept silent as we sped toward the airport. They well understood that I needed quiet to regain control of my emotions, they knew the speed would comfort me. It wasn't as effective as running, but the jeep was in top condition and responded well as the trees on either side of the road blended into a wall of blurry greens and browns.
I was grateful it was two in the morning. The roads were dark and empty and allowed me to push the Jeep to its limits. We arrived at the airport before dawn. The first direct flight didn't leave until 7am but there was a connecting flight with Northwestern that would leave in less than an hour and arrive before ten with plenty of room for all three of us.
Once we got our tickets and baggage stowed, we went through the security check points and headed for the boarding gate. While we were seated, Carlisle called Alice to give her the details. "Alice, how are you holding up?"
"Carlisle, we're fine," she reassured us all.
"We're boarding our flight momentarily we're changing planes in San Francisco. We'll be arriving on Northwestern Flight 324 in Phoenix at nine forty five."
"Good, we're checking out of here and relocating closer to her mother's house," She reported.
I knew she could hear me, even though I wasn't speaking into the phone. "What! Are you insane? You're moving closer to his known destination with her?"
"I know Edward, but we have to be closer if we're going to protect Bella's mother. We'll meet you at the airport. We can decide what to do about that once you get here."
Bella's Mother? Oh for the love of all that's holy, would the complications never end? I held my hand out for the phone to Carlisle, "Alice?"
"Yes, Edward?"
"When Bella wakes up, tell her we're coming just as fast as we can for her; that I'll take her away when I get there. Tell her to hold on for just a little while longer." My voice broke; clearly, I was the one trying to hold on. I was scared, more than I had ever been in my unnatural life. I could not lose the only reason I had for existing and no one who knew me was fooled by my thin facade of calm.
"Of course I will, Edward. We'll see you soon, bye," Alice hung up quickly.
The flight to San Francisco was boarding, we were the only first class passengers. I was glad for the privacy. I had a lot to think about. The tracker was closing in on Bella, using her family against ours; this was consistent with what Laurent had warned us about with James. My greatest worry was Bella's innocence. She would not recognize a ruse. I had to trust that Alice would be able to catch it. At this moment I was angrier with myself than I could have imagined. What an idiot I'd been to expose her like that when I had known there were human hunters in the area! I already knew that Bella was a danger magnet, drawing every conceivable trouble to herself. What did I expect?
I began to think about the worst case scenario, I always tried to look at all the possibilities if I had the time to consider them. If, for instance, Alice and Jasper were unsuccessful, and Bella fell to her attacker… what would I do then? First, of course, I would avenge her, or die trying. James was obviously doomed in either case, because I was certain my family would not allow him to continue his existence, regardless. But, afterwards, if I managed to survive James' demise, I would not be able to bear going on after her death, nor would I wish to try. But, how would I end it? I knew better than to think my family would help me out. In fact, I would have to be very careful to make sure they did not suspect my plans.
But the only sure way out for me was dismemberment and cremation. Obviously, I would need a willing adversary, capable of defeating me. It would be necessary to find one capable of besting me easily, who was willing and able to complete the process in full. The most deadly adversaries were probably the Italians. More specifically, the Volturi; I could appeal to Aro. He was pitiless and might look favorably on destroying me, although his friendship with Carlisle might prevent him from carrying out his own wishes in this regard. Still, I was sure he could be provoked. Yes, it would have to be Italy. We were landing in San Francisco already, thank God. Our connection was a tight one. We had no time to waste, but I managed to find a map of Phoenix on the way to our gate.
I spent the second leg of the flight deciding on different hiding places to take Bella. I used the map to memorize the city, just in case. It helped occupy the time, over which I had lost all perspective. Every place I considered for hiding Bella was flawed and finally, I decided that it was better to stay mobile, than try to find any one fixed place. I worried though, how well Bella would do without the stability she was used to. Carlisle agreed the mountains just outside the city would do for a start, and we could decide where to go from there while he, Emmett and Jasper took up the hunt.
When we finally landed in Phoenix, I began to search for Alice. I found her mental 'voice' just after we touched down. She was chanting to herself with her eyes closed, something she'd learned to do when she didn't want me to hear what she would normally have been thinking to herself. It was enough to alarm me. Jasper was not with her. I began getting my things together, ready to dart off the plane.
"Carlisle, Em," they looked at me with concern as I pulled my bags from the overhead compartment, "Something is wrong. Alice is blocking me. Jasper isn't with her. We need to be ready to get out of here, fast." I was ready to bolt when the doors opened. I could move fast enough that no one would see me.
"We've touched down, I'll call her. Just sit tight, Edward. Let's find out what's going on first." Carlisle, ever the calm one in the face of disaster, pulled out the cell phone from his pocket, "Alice?"
"Carlisle."
I could hear her voice(s) Fifty-eighth street and Cactus.
"Edward says something is wrong… what's going on?"
"Oh NO!" I roared, watching it through her eyes now. Bella was alone in the mirror room with the monster. I was vaguely aware that Emmett was holding me in my seat. I could feel a rumbling growl building in my chest. How could they have been so careless with her? How could this have happened?
"We've lost Bella," Alice's remorse was plain in her tone, but it didn't change a thing. She'd failed me, and she knew it, "Jasper went to look for her before I saw where she was going…"
"Carlisle…" I said, "She's gone to meet James in the mirrored room."
Alice's voice was as taut as a fiddle string, "By the time I saw it, Jasper was gone and I thought it better to wait for you here."
"You did the best thing, Alice," Carlisle assured her calmly.
"The mirrored room is a ballet studio not far from Bella's house on Fifty Eighth Street and Cactus, that's where they will be, where we need to get to as soon as possible."
"We'll be the first ones off, just stay there, we're coming." He flipped the silver phone closed. "Edward, you need to calm down and focus now."
"CALM DOWN!" There was no rational thinking for me at this point. Apparently Carlisle just didn't get it, "He's got her, Carlisle. He means to kill her and he can't wait for me to find out! He is going to kill her for sport!"
"We don't know that, yet – son, there's still hope. She's still on her way to him, Edward think, for her sake. You'll need to concentrate on keeping your pace unnoticed through the airport. I'll take care of the details with Alice; Emmett will find Jasper and follow you as closely as possible. Can you hear Jasper at all yet?"
I bent my head to try to concentrate. "He's on the other side of the airport, looking for Bella in all the wrong places." He was frustrated and just about ready to give up and go back to Alice.
Edward I heard Alice call me, I can see that she's not there quite yet. You can make it there in time, Edward, I'm sure of it, but you'll have to hurry. Cover yourself and wear sunglasses, run a straight path, there'll be no obstructions you can't handle alone. Emmett and Jasper will be behind you in a silver Cadillac. Carlisle and I will follow in the Mercedes. Alice began to see yet another vision, James with Bella in the mirrored studio. I was struggling against Emmett unseeingly, almost unconsciously. I watched with Alice as James threw Bella across the room into a mirror. She wasn't moving… Oh NO NO NO…
"Edward, EDWARD!" Emmett was shaking me. "Get a grip kid, it's time to go. Try not to attract attention to yourself. Can I let you go now? You gonna be all right to find your way out of here?"
I nodded, pulling my consciousness back, away from Alice's vision.
"OK, don't lose focus." He glanced in Carlisle's direction and we were all on our feet. Emmett still had me by one arm as we approached the stewardess. The hatch opened and Em let go. I was around the first corner of the gangway and to the exit before she had secured the door. I saw Alice standing there in front of us, Jasper was already coming down the concourse in our direction.
Go. She thought. I didn't need any encouragement. I took off.
The airport was almost crowded, and even though my movements were unnaturally fast, it was torture to move this slow, knowing she was in imminent peril. But no one paid me any attention; I avoided the cameras as much as possible. Finally through the concourse, I headed towards the first exit that would release me to the outdoors.
I ignored the waiting taxis and headed for the deserted darkness of the parking garage just across the street. Melting into the dark, I hit full speed and disappeared from all human eyes with the velocity of my departure.
AN: This novel was begun by the Twilight Saga's Creator Ms. Stephenie Meyer and can be read online at her website: www . stepheniemeyer . com
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